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Was at the game tonight.
The first period was very intense, but the two periods that followed were less action packed.
In short, I found that Grigorenko, Yakupov and Nesterov showed the more potential. Yakupov was very intimidating the few times he actually cared to skate. At one point in the game, the coach couldn't understand the ref, so he was asked to translate for them. Grigorenko was very uneven in his implication tonight. He floated from time to time, but, in general, he looked good. In the second or third period, MacKinnon checked Grigs and he hated it, you could see it in his eyes and he skated the whole ice with very surprising speed and intensity. He had vision and skill ; he just needs to though up a little bit And be more consistent. He seems to be a pretty nice guy : every time he skated near the bench and people in the stands were saying hi to him he smiled. I know it doesn't have nothing to do with hockey, but I just can't hate the guy.
As for the Q team, I was very disappointed with the defence. None of them made a big impression of me. The only good ones were Ouellet and Fournier, but even them didn't look very good and, mostly, stable. The players that showed the most potential in offence were Huberdeau, Mackinnon and Mantha. As for Hudon, he was the only one that was good in all three zones, constantly breaking plays or creating ones. Between plays, I was pleasantly surprised to see him go talk to his teammates and showing great leadership.
The game itself wasn't overly fun, but it was a great appetizer for the WCJ's.
I don't know how I'll manage to wait for this year's edition. Begin already !
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